


A new page

by Shaya_a_b



Category: Camp Camp
Genre: Angst, Camp camp au, F/M, Fluff, MomGwen, Parent AU, Strong Language, dadvid, swearnig
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-12
Updated: 2017-11-07
Packaged: 2019-01-16 10:34:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12340959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shaya_a_b/pseuds/Shaya_a_b
Summary: This takes place at the end of summer and the last day of Camp Campbell, where everyone’s leaving and tears are streaming.





	1. Saying goodbye

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time doing a fan fiction so I apologize if things seem a little odd, but I hope you enjoy the two things I love most, angst and camp camp.

It’s it’s almost the end of summer vacation and finally the last day of camp Campbell, David and Gwen went outside to wake the kids up as usual and have them have breakfast and help them pack, some of the kids would leave with the QuarterMaster by bus while the others had their parents pick them up but before they left David made sure to do one last camp activity before they leave.  
David handed each and every one of the kids, including Gwen, a little notebook and told them to decorate it with whatever they want and have the other campers sign and write something in it, as usual Max thought it was a stupid idea but with a little nudge from David he ended up putting one lightning bolt sticker.  
David was on the verge of tears when the QM said it was time to leave, “already?!” David exclaimed, “but I thought they’d be leaving for another hour!”  
“David, it’s already 2pm it’s time for the kids to go back home, and don’t worry I’m pretty sure you’ll see them next year” Gwen comforted David while feeling a little unease, “y-you think?” David sniffed, “yeah, um sure”  
As the QM started the engine to the bus, the campers gathered up to the front hugging each other and saying goodbyes, some like Dolph, Preston and Nurf actually had tears swelling in their eyes (Preston started to cry when one of the campers stepped foot on the bus), Nerris held onto Harrison so hard he started to suffocate, Erid was already in the bus waving from the window and both Nikki and Neil were hugging Max tightly, “ya know, if you need anything you can call us right?” Said Neil pulling away from Max “yeah sure, thanks anyways” Max said while shrugging, Nikki was also on the verge of tears but kept denying it, she went up to the platypus and pat it on the head and then headed to Gwen who was still comforting David from crying, “hey David,” said Nikki “y-yes Nikki?” David looked down on the fidgeting child “um, thanks David? Well, thank you too Gwen, even though this camp was terrible and it was not what I had in mind but I still had a great time this summer, and you two deserve my thanks, so thank you both” hearing her words ended up in more crying from David and a sigh from Gwen “well, I’m happy you did have fun this summer, I’m surprised you said it but hey, we appreciate it” Gwen smiled and ruffled the green ones hair, Nikki smiled and gave David a quick hug and a pat on the back with a “you know your almost thirty right?” As a way of showing her petty to the poor man who was bawling his eyes out.  
Half of the campers are inside the bus waving goodbye to the remaining campers and co counselors.  
Dolph, Harrison, and Max remained on the grounds waiting for their parents to pick them up, after not being able to see the bus Max headed straight for the Mess Hall saying “welp, my parents probably forgot about today so if they did bother to show up, tell me”  
Right as Max entered the Mess Hall a car pulled up with Dolph’s father, he got out of the car to go to his son and have a little chat with David and Gwen and said his thanks to both of them for looking after his son and then said his goodbyes and rode the car with his son away from the camp.  
Half an hour passed and Harrison was on his way to the Mess Hall when David called back on him telling him that his parents are pulling up to the camp right now, his parents didn’t bother to leave the car and talk to the counselors, they just waited for Harrison to enter the car and leave.  
“I’m worried about Max, Gwen” David said right as Harrison’s car was not able to be seen  
“Me too David... we.. we should wait a little to see if his parents _are_  coming, if they don’t show up in the next half an hour we’re calling them”  
“Do you think Max will be okay? I’m afraid something will happen to that poor boy..”  
“I.. I don’t know.. let’s just hope for the best, I think last nights talk about contacting us if something went wrong with his parents was enough to let him know we worry about him, so let’s not bother him now and just wait”  
“Hopefully he will be able to call us... but.. what if he did? What if he called? Then what’ll we do?”  
“Um... we need to think this through more, probably call child protective services or something, ugh I don’t have any idea what to do!” Gwen said while ruffling her hair with anger.  
“I.. I wanna take custody of him,”  
“Wait what—“  
“You heard me! I wanna take custody of him! I will not leave that boy in the hands of some- some evil creatures! I want him to be raised in good hands and be happy- wait can I take custody of him?”  
“Uh- let’s have this talk after Max leaves? We need to sit this through..”  
“Yeah... yeah, you’re right.. “  
“I’ll go make sure we packed everything..” with a pat on David’s shoulder Gwen turned back and headed towards their rooms, while David stayed with a concerned look at the front waiting for Max’s parents to arrive.  
A half an hour later and his parents still didn’t show up, as a conclusion David quickly picked up his phone, dialed Max’s fathers number and waited for him to answer, “hello” said a deep voice through the phone, “hello! This is Davi—“  
“Sorry I couldn’t answer right now, I’m probably busy at the moment or away from my phone, if you have something important to say please speak after you hear the beep, but if you’re calling to check on me, yes I’m okay I’m still alive, and my life is as normal as it’s always been.” Then follows a beep after the voice message, David held his phone tighter a little angry that they didn’t answer, he gulped then spoke “H-hi this is David a co counselors at Max’s camp, I was wondering when are you going to pick up Max? It’s been an hour since the arranged time, if you get this message please call and comfort us when your on your way, and thank you” David hung up, becoming more impatient, ‘when will they come? Will they ever come? Did they actually forget about today thinking it would be tomorrow? Or they don’t actually care?’ All these questions came across David’s mind as he bit his nails, then came Gwen with a look of concern covering her face, “did you call?” David looked back quickly a little surprised from her sudden appearance “I- i did! But no one answered, I’ll wait a little to call again but I’m not stopping until they answer!” David answered “I checked up on Max, he fell asleep on one of the tables, poor kid must’ve been bored to be all alone while everyone else is gone..” Gwen looked back at the Mess Hall, “I’m calling again” said David as he opened up his phone to call Max’s father again, no answer, and again and still no answer, one call became two and two became three and the hours were ticking and 2 hours have passed until David’s phone finally rang, and with a bit of stumbling David picked up “h-hello?”  
“Hello? This is David right?” A males voice answered through the phone “y-yes! This is David, is this–“  
“This is Max’s father, I’ve got your.. multiple messages and I called to inform you that we haven’t forgotten that we’re supposed to pick him up a couple hours before but I had a couple of errands to attend and I’m on my way now to pick up Max, in fact I’m close by”  
“Good! Good, yes then I’ll go tell Max that your close by? Thank you sir”  
“Yes, please inform him, I’d like him to be ready when I arrive, I don’t like to wait, now, good bye” right before David could say another word Max’s father hung up the phone, a ray of silence went over Gwen and David, “well?! What did he say?!” Gwen blurted out “wha- oh right, Um he’s on his way.. we should tell Max” David said “did he say something else? You look like you’ve been slapped in the face” Gwen looked with concern “well, he didn’t really say something? He seems really formal,but well, he said he hates wait so he wants to see Max waiting here when he arrives, and.. they knew that they had to pick him up? They apparently had some “errands to attend” and just ignored their child? I-I don’t know..” David looked like he was on the verge of tears and his hands were shaking “let’s just go tell Max that his dad is almost here.. and let’s just hope for the best” Gwen patted David on the shoulder assisting him towards the Mess Hall.  
“Max?” David peeked his head through the door looking for the child, Max lifted his head up from the table that he was scratching on with a knife, “your father called and he said that he’s close by, I think we should wait for him outside” David opened the door a bit more signaling to the young boy to follow him, Max seemed hesitant at first but got his bag and followed along.  
A couple minutes had passed and finally a black car could be seen “oh! He’s here” David exclaimed, Max seemed to take a step back maybe thinking of escaping but what would it do? So he just stood behind David fidgeting with his feet, before the car pulled up David kneeled down to Max put his hands on the little boys shoulders and looked him straight in the eye and said “Max, don’t be afraid, remember what we told you last night and make sure to do it if anything happened, you know we’ll be on your side and we will be standing next to you no matter what” silence occurred then Max broke it of with a little shiver in his voice while saying “alright.. thanks” Max looked straight down to his feet trying to hide the fact that he’s scared for what to come, that that he’s not ready to head back, and with that David gave him a hug, a little warm hug, Max didn’t move, he kept his head down but David could tell that Max’s shoulders loosened up a bit, Gwen gave Max a pat on the head and said “good luck, kiddo” and with that the car pulled up, no one came out and no honk was heard but Max knew it was time for him to leave, it was time to go back to the hellish nightmare that he lived in, and so he headed towards the car and rode on the back seat, and off left the car with Max.  
“That poor boy...” David stood up rubbing the back of his head, “he looked like he was on the edge of crying...” Gwen added “I wonder what it’s like to live with them... what did they do to him that made him this way? He’s so afraid to speak up even though they weren’t here..” David clutched his fists thinking of all the possible scenarios that could’ve led to Max being that way “fuck!” Gwen shouted with anger rubbing her head “let’s just go back home for now.. we should think this through tomorrow” Gwen said “yeah.. I’ll drive.. you should get a rest in the car”  
“Thanks David.. I’ll go get our things” so, both Gwen and David rode the car back to their houses, not a single word was spoken between them all was just dead silence, dropping off Gwen at her apartment and heading back to his own, David entered his little apartment breathing in heavily throwing his things on the side then almost right away threw himself on the bed falling asleep.

* * *

 

Silence covered the car between Max and his father, not a single breath could be heard and of course not a single word to be said, Max fidgeted with his legs the whole time thinking about what would happen back home, what would his mom say to him? Would she beat him up because of how bad he acted at camp? Or would she just ignore him like she did his whole life? Drifting off to his thoughts his heart beats rose higher and higher by every second getting more afraid as time passed until his father spoke “you know, the so called co counselor called us at the beginning of summer informing us about your behavior in camp” Max’s heart dropped “he said that you tried to escape multiple times and you kept cursing” ‘please stop’ Max thought “you know your mother and I are very disappointed in you, I thought we taught you better, I don’t think your mother and I worked hard and well for you to turn out this way, a disgrace, a useless child who only bothered others for his own enjoyment” Max’s father voice grew higher, Max noticed the tone in his fathers voice and started to shake, only the worst is to come for sure, ‘should I call David when I get back?’ Max thought “When we head back, first thing you’ll do is give us every electronic device” ‘wait what?’ “No TV, no phone, no video games, until you’ve learned your lesson” ‘wait, this is not how it’s supposed to go! I’m supposed to call David and he’ll help me! How am I supposed to call him now?’ “Is everything understood?” Said his father “y-yes...” said Max in a hushed voice, “ _is everything understood?_ ” Said his father a little louder “yes” Max answered shaking, tears are streaming down his face ‘nothing will be alright, nothing ever was alright and it’ll never be’.


	2. Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As things are getting complicated for Max everything is starting to come along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took me way longer than what I had in mind, I just couldn’t stop myself from writing (mostly because I didn’t know where to end it) I tried making it longer because why not? Anyways, thank you so much for supporting me and I hope you enjoy this new chapter!

David woke up to the sound of his phone ringing and wondered ‘who’s calling this late?’ David picked up his phone answering “yes” with a grunt “hey David, um sorry for calling at a time like this but I-i can’t sleep” Gwen answered “oh hi Gwen,” David rubbed his eyes and looked at the clock that was sitting on his bedside table that wrote (3:24am) “what’s wrong? Is everything alright?” “Um well I don’t know why I didn’t tell you this earlier but I contacted Neil and Nikki the other day” Gwen said with a shaking voice “why would you call them?” David sat up rubbing his neck “well, it’s been two weeks since the end of camp and I’m worried about Max...” Gwen sounded like she was on the verge of tears “Gwen... Well, what did they say?” David opened up the lights to his bedroom, blinded by the bright lights “neither of them heard of him! He hasn’t texted any of them and they didn’t see him online since the day they left camp!” Gwen gasp for air probably crying “Gwen relax- you know what? I’m on my way to your house right now” David said while rummaging through his closet grabbing a shirt and pants “wait what?” Gwen sniffed “I can’t have this conversation on the phone so I’m coming over, won’t take long I promise, so I’ll see you later” before Gwen could’ve said anything else David hung up the phone changing his clothes quickly, brushed his teeth, grabbed anything from the fridge that would quiet his empty stomach and left the house heading towards Gwen’s.  
A couple minutes passed and David finally arrived at Gwen’s place knocking on her door, Gwen opened up with swollen eyes from what looked like crying, and the only thought David had was to grab her and hug her tightly, surprisingly, she didn’t refuse it and hugged him back burying her face onto his shoulder and tearing up, David never thought Gwen would be this worried, he never saw her like this and it hurts him to leave her alone, they let go of each other and David stepped in the house closing the door behind him saying “do you think we should go to his house?” “I already thought of that, but it would be stupid if we did..” Gwen crossed her arms, the atmosphere became quiet for a minute then David spoke “should.. should we go visit his school?” “I- what should we do once we go?” Gwen gestured to David to go sit on the small grey couch in her living room “we could wait outside his school till he gets out and talk to him?” David sat down looking up at Gwen “what if his parents picked him up? And even so how would we know which school he goes to?” Gwen walked to the open kitchen making a cup of chamomile for each of them “you’re right...” David rested his face on his hands thinking, silence drove over them again this time was longer, Gwen came back with two cups of chamomile handing one to David and sitting down next to him “hey, I didn’t know you drink this stuff” David smiled at her “well, you did tell me to drink this whenever I can’t sleep” Gwen smiled back weakly “aww Gwen, you remembered” David placed his hand on his chest tilting his head, in return Gwen snorted rising an eyebrow at him mockingly “anyways, drink it so you’ll be able to take a nap and go to work” “well then,” David stood up gulping down the chamomile “I should leave, I’ll come back here after work to work things out, sounds good?” He placed the mug down on the coffee table “sure, thank you for coming David, even though you stayed for literally 10 minutes” David chuckled “a friend gotta do what a friend gotta do” David smiled widely and walked towards the door “I’ll call you after work” said David giving Gwen a pat on the shoulder “see ya..” Gwen smiled weakly opening the door for him.

 

* * *

  
The sound of the clock was ringing in Max’s ear telling him to wake up, so as a result Max grunted and shut the clock off and sat up for a couple of minutes then went off to his bathroom, the only thought that was going through his mind was how much he hated waking up and how much he hated school, he looked at the mirror in the bathroom staring at himself looking too tired ‘I have to do it... somehow I’ll manage to do it’ Max thought, after he got ready he headed downstairs to the kitchen hoping to not cross his parents and he didn’t, he made himself a cup of coffee and toast with PB and started eating as fast as he can so he could leave, he left the house and started walking towards his school ‘I’m going to do it, today, nothings going to stop me’ Max checked his pocket for a little piece of paper that has been there for the past week.

The bell rang and the kids bolted out of their classes heading back home, Max left school but instead of going back home he headed towards a little coffee shop that he usually goes to after school, clutching the paper in his hand he entered the shop and he was greeted by a waitress “welcome Max, the usual?” The waitress smiled “uh no, I actually came here for something else..” the tone of Max’s voice sounded nervous “what is it then?” The waitress asked “can.. can I make a phone call? With your phone?” “Uhh... sure?” She gestured for him to get in and sit at a table till she came back with her phone, Max’s heart beats rose thinking that anyone could hear it, he kept darting his eyes at the doors and the windows scared that his parents might walk in at any moment, then she came back with her phone “here, kiddo” she handed him the phone “thanks” Max said holding her phone, he took out the piece of paper that was in his hand dialing in the number that was written and calling, he waited, “hello, this is David how can I help you?” Max gulped “D-David.. it’s me Max” said Max in a hushed voice “Max?! Oh thank god, I was so worried! How are you? What happened? Why didn’t you call us?” “David things are more fucked up then I last remembered and I can’t fucking stand it anymore” Max exclaimed “right when I got home from camp dad took everything electronic I have and they fucking beat me right away, not only that, they fucking let me starve for the night!” Max’s voice started to shake “I’m so sick of their bullshit, my whole body is covered in bruises and that’s not all, those fucking assholes in school won’t stop bothering me and I’m so tired of this shit!” Max started to cry “Max... first of all I need you to calm down, second of all-“ David was cut off by Max “calm down?! Calm down?!! I’m gonna fucking kill myself if I wait any longer! I’m fucking leav–“ “listen to me Max!” David shouted, and as a result Max got quiet, surprised by the sudden raise of voice “I talked to Gwen about your situation and we came to a conclusion that we’re going to take you in” David said “wait what-” Max asked ”but you have to wait till tomorrow, we’re going to talk to your principal about what’s going on and after that we’ll go through a lot for you to come with us, we just needed proof that your parents are not so great” Max held the phone close to his ear staying quiet, glad yet afraid of what his parents would do to him if they found out about this conversation “are you okay with that Max?” David asked “I... I guess” Max sniffed “also Max.. if a kid bothered you please tell a teacher, it hurts me enough that you’re going through a lot, I don’t want you to hate going to school because of these kids..” David said with a worried voice “oh, okay” a little smile brushed through Max’s face  
“oh I almost forgot! Send me the location to your school so I’ll be able to come” David added “alright” Max answered  
“I’ll see you tomorrow Max” David said “see ya..” Max answered then hung up the phone texting David the location of the school and then looked for the waitress but found her standing close by listening to what he said “Max.. I didn’t know” said the waitress “here” he quickly handed her the phone saying his thanks and leaving the shop quickly, he ran to his house praying that his parents aren’t home yet.

heart beats rising as he stepped into the house, he was relieved that no one was home he ran to his room and threw himself on the bed thinking of all the things that could happen tomorrow.

 

* * *

 

David was already heading to his car when Max called so after he got the location he quickly called Gwen “Gwen! I have great news!” Exclaimed David as Gwen picked up the call “did Max call?!” Gwen said in an excited tone “he did! I’ll tell you all about it once I get to your place, I’m on my way right now”  
“Oh thank god, alright then I’ll see you later”  
“Bye” David hung up the call, excited about seeing Max tomorrow yet scared.

As he entered Gwen’s place she greeted him with a cup of coffee and sat at the couch “tell me everything” Gwen said, and so David told her about the conversation he had with Max and how it went and told her about the idea of talking to the principal of Max’s school so they’d have a backup if Max’s parents did something, “once we tell the principal about Max’s situation let’s just hope for the best”  
“Do you think he’ll help us?”  
“As I said let’s just hope for the best” David said as he stared at the floor millions of thoughts crossing his mind.

 

* * *

  
David and Gwen arrived at Max’s school heading towards the principals office “weren’t we supposed to make an appointment or something” Gwen asked David  
“Gwen, this is a school” David answered finally arriving at the office, they stand there looking at each other for a moment then David knocks on the door “come in” a voice from the other side answers, and David opens the door heading inside with Gwen  
“sorry to bother you sir but we’re here for something urgent..” David said  
“Oh, well then have a seat” he gestured towards the two chairs in front of the desk opposite side of him.  
Both Gwen and David sit down and David speaks up saying “let me introduce myself, I’m David and this is my friend Gwen” he points at Gwen “we’re here to discuss things about Maxwell’s situation”

The bell ending the second period rang and Max left the classroom heading to his locker, stomach turning because of the idea that Gwen and David could be here or he could be called at the principals office at any time and as he exchanged his history books with chemistry a girl who’s an upperclassmen, taps on his shoulder, Max turns quickly surprised “what?” Max grunts, the girl raises an eyebrow at him surely not pleased by his response “the principal wants to see you at his office” as she ends her sentence she turns around breaths ‘jerk’ and leaves, if it wasn’t for knowing the reason why he’s heading to the principals office he could’ve raged at the girl but he had no time, he put back his book quickly and headed towards the office, as he entered he was greeted by three sad faces, David, Gwen and the principal, he hated when people looked at him like that so his first reaction was to cringe, he closed the door behind him and moved closer to the rest of them.  
“Uhm... hi?” Max waved awkwardly  
“Max, is it true what they said about your parents?” Asked the principal  
“Um, yeah..” he scuffed his feet on the floor keeping his gaze down  
“Then, I will allow you to leave right now to sort things out, you’ve still got all the time you need before your parents notice your absence” he wiggled his thumbs together looking at the boy  
“So we’ll be going to a police station right now to discuss things about your situation” David spoke  
The color of Max’s face went lighter, his stomach turned and he had the sudden urge to puke, he’s not ready to face the police, what if his parents found out? What if they decided to pick him up early today and they didn’t find him? Millions of thoughts started swirling around Max’s head and he became a bit light headed but managed to stay still  
“Are you okay Max?” Asked Gwen with concern  
“Y-yeah..” mumbled Max  
“Is it okay if we go now then?” Asked David  
Max had a couple seconds to think about the situation, he was scared to face the police but also, he wasn’t ready to go back home and stay with his parents for longer, then he finally spoke “yeah..”

  
“Are you ready Max?” Asked David as they pulled up the car in front of the police station,  
His heart was beating so loud he thought if it weren’t for the AC being on, Gwen and David could hear it “yes..” he hesitated for a second before saying it.  
They got out of the car and walked towards the station David and Gwen in the lead and Max following behind him, keeping his head down, they approached the front desk and David started talking to the lady up front, Gwen looked at Max who was so scared that he wasn’t aware of his surroundings “Max?” Called Gwen, he looked up at her quickly surprised “y-yes?”  
“We should go wait for David until he’s done” said Gwen worried  
“Oh, okay..” said Max  
Gwen put a hand on the boys shoulder directing him to a seat near by.  
They waited for a little while until David came back “hey Max? This lady right here says she wants to speak to you, is it okay?” Asked David  
Max took a quick look at the lady that was standing behind David who looked like she was in her thirty’s and said “okay..” he stood up and followed the woman who was leading him towards what looked like her office.  
David sat down next to Gwen sighing, “she seems nice” said Gwen “hopefully Max will think the same and trust her” said David, “poor boy looked like he was getting sick” Gwen looked at the door where Max and the lady went into, worried  
“Mrs. Miller said that she had a lot of cases like these, where a parent of the kids friend would report abuse, but a first for camp counselors to report about a camper” said David  
“Max didn’t have grownups to talk to David.. we’re probably the first ones for him to open up to and that’s even barely”  
“Yeah...”

A couple minutes went by and a man went out calling on Gwen and David asking them to go see Mrs. Miller to fill some papers, and when they entered her office, the first thing that caught their eyes was Max, curled up on the chair hugging his knees and burying his face between them, and Mrs Miller writing down on some papers.  
As they entered she suggested that they’d have a seat and talk about how things are going to work out for Max, David took a seat on the opposite side of Max and Gwen decided to stand next to Max with a hand on his shoulder.  
“Now,” said Mrs. Miller “I need you both to be signing these papers” she showed a couple of parchment papers “but I need you two to tell me whatever you know about Max and why you want to take him in” she looked up at David then Gwen.  
David gulped, then he started talking about Max, what he knew about him, his friends and family, he made sure to include as much ‘good’ information as he could from camp and anything Max told him about his parents, and how David feels about Max and how he could be a good guardian for him, Gwen added a couple things here and there but she let David talk, after a while Mrs. Miller gave them both the parchments and made them write their information and sign it.  
“Since you two are the only grownups to know about his situation, it is conformed from this day on” she took the parchments away and tucked them neatly “that you two are officially  guardians of Maxwell” she looked at them “ _but_ you two will have to stay together to take care of Max, he will not be left alone in the house, it’s either one of you will stay by his side or both” she looked at Max who took his feet off of the chair and sat up normally, David’s eyes lighted up from excitement as he herd her words “and also take these papers,” she handed him new parchments “these will teach you about all the needs to be a guardian, and we will contact you soon to ask about your situation” she smiled, “good luck” David stood up and shook her hand excitedly “thank you very much” he exclaimed.

As they left the building David stopped to look at Max who was still in shock, he kneeled down placing his hands on his shoulders looking him straight in the eyes “I promise you Max.. from now on, everything will be alright” he smiled softly.  
Max stood there looking at David for a while taking in what just happened then without a second thought he hugged David tightly, “ _thank you_ ”


	3. One step further

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are getting more serious and stress is rising.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t know how I managed to write this chapter but I did..! This week was filled with exams and I’m still studying! It’s a bit shorter than the others because of the amount of pressure I’m having but at least I wrote it! Thank you guys so much for all the support, I really appreciate it!

“Hey David?” Gwen approached David who was sitting on his couch reading the papers that Mrs. Miller gave him, “yes, Gwen?” He said, eyes still on the paper,  
“I.. I was wondering about what Miller said earlier today, ya know, about ‘living together’” she rubbed the back of her head looking down  
“Oh yeah, right” he frowned putting the papers down “well, I have a guest room and an office? That will do right?” He looked at her “we’ve got a lot of things to do but for now, let’s keep Max in my room and you can sleep in the guests room, I’ll stay here” he smiled softly, and Gwen frowned, not liking the idea that David would sleep on the couch but she didn’t have enough energy to disagree with him, besides, she _hates_ sleeping on couches.  
She sat down next to him and asked “what does the paper say?” She looked at the papers in front of him,  
“Oh um, it says that in the next three weeks both of us need jobs and Max at least by next week he needs to be transformed into a new school..” he looked down at the papers “and some stuff about how we should take care of him and stuff”   
“I still feel like shit...” Gwen frowned   
“Gwen..” he looked at her frowning “we’ll work things out, and tomorrow if you want, we’ll go to your place and get all the things you need to make you feel comfortable”   
“Thank you David... but I feel like there’s this weight on my shoulders and I don’t know why..” she sighed  
David wrapped an arm around her shoulder bringing her closer “things will work themselves out eventually, I promise”  
“Thanks, David” Gwen smiled weakly.

Max woke up to the smell of pancakes, following the smell to the kitchen he saw David with an apron wrapped around his waist, humming and cooking, “what’re you doing?” Max asked with a tired voice,  
“Oh!” David looked at Max surprised “good morning Max! I’m making pancakes! You like pancakes don’t you?” he smiled at Max  
Max shrugged trying to hide the fact that he loves pancakes, he turns around heading to the bathroom then he stops remembering something “hey David?”  
“Yes Max?”   
“Where’s Gwen?” He went back to the kitchen  
“Oh golly I almost forgot! She went to work, and she’s driving by some places to get the essentials” he started stacking the pancakes on top of each other on a plate “she says if you need something write her whatever you need, ya know like clothes and all that jazz” he poured syrup on the pancakes and placed the plate on the dining table “here” David got his phone from the counter handing it to Max “write to Gwen whatever you want” he smiled.  
Max took the phone from David and just stared at the phone for a second before writing the things he needed, he felt kind of awkward writing her a list of his needs so he didn’t write much, just things like, sizes of clothes and underwear, toothbrush, hairbrush, and a pair of socks.  
He handed David his phone back and mumbled “thanks”  
David smiled widely “no problem Max! Now go do your thing in the bathroom and eat your pancakes before they get cold!” He placed his hands on the boys shoulders pushing him towards the bathroom,  
“Okay, okay! Jeez old man calm down” he chuckled while being dragged by David.

Gwen entered the apartment, hands filled with bags, she dropped them all on the floor sighing “I brought a couple of stuff” she looked at David who was reading a book but placed it on his thighs when she entered, “oh thank you!” He stood up placing his book on the coffee table then walked towards her “you should take a rest, I’ll tidy things up” he smiled at her and she smiled back weakly “thanks..” she went to the guests room with a backpack in her hand,   
David watched her go, then he started taking things out of the bags placing them in the kitchen in their right spots, he took Max’s things out folding them neatly and going to his room where Max was laying sideways on the bed with a notebook and squiggling in it, “Max..?” He peaked his head through the already open door looking at Max “Gwen came back with the stuff” he entered the room placing the stuff on the bed “you can put your clothes in my closet if you want”  
Max sat up surprised at the amount of clothes Gwen got him, he imagined just two shirts and a pair of jeans and socks but he didn’t imagine he’d get full on 5 outfits with two shirts and 10 pairs of socks, he frowned slightly thinking about the amount of money she spent on him, he doesn’t want to be a burden to them, “thanks..”  
David noticed the change of Max’s face when he saw the stuff, frowning a bit “ya know Max?” He said trying to change the subject “I think I had a game boy somewhere here” he squinted his eyes looking around his room “I just can’t put my mind into where I placed it, but if I do find it you can have it Max, to kill time” he looked back at Max smiling.  
“A game boy?” Max raised an eyebrow at David “what are you? Fifty?” He said mockingly,  
David frowned “am not! Game boys are not that old Max” he exclaimed, placing his hands on his waist,  
“Yeah yeah, say whatever you want, you’re still old” Max chuckled and David squinted at him.

Later that day David actually found the old game boy that was laying in a box filled with old junk in the closet, he found multiple games which were Pokémon and Mario and a couple of other things that David doesn’t remember having, as he was going to give it to Max he noticed that it needed some batteries and he didn’t have any laying around so he just put it aside promising Max to buy some later,   
After Having lunch with Gwen when she woke up David asked to speak with her privately so they got into the guests room closing the door behind her “one of the staff that works with Mrs. Miller called me while you slept” he crossed his arms looking at her,  
“what did they say?” She sat down on the bed   
“They talked to me about our jobs, they wanted to make sure we worked and they talked about Max’s school” he scratched the back of his neck “they want me to take his file from his previous school and apply him for a new one close by”   
“So I’ll stay home with Max tomorrow?”   
David nodded, “they recommended me some schools that are nearby and I’ve decided on one that I’ll go to tomorrow”  
“What about your job David?” Gwen asked  
“Oh I called my boss today and told him about my situation, he said he’ll give this week off until we sort things out, such a nice guy” he smiled,  
“Lucky, my boss is an asshole” she squinted remembering her boss’s face, “what do you think happened to Max’s parents...?”  
“About that.. they talked to me about what’s going to happen..” David frowned leaning against the wall “they said that they talked to them about our report but of course left it anonymous to them and they’re going to speak to them in court..”  
Gwen frowned looking at David,  
“And they want Max to be there...” David looked at Gwen with extreme worry in his face,  
“Fuck..” Gwen said under her breath, “I don’t think Max will want to go..”  
“He _has_ to go..” David sighed,  
“Well just have to keep this outta his way until they tell us the date”   
“Yeah.. that’s best for now..”

 

* * *

 

The next day came and David woke early in the morning, making himself breakfast and leaving,  
Arriving at the school he walked towards the principals office knocking on the door “come in” said a voice from inside, and David entered,  
“Hello” David smiled,  
“Oh! You’re back!” Said the principal as he stood up, “hows things been? I see Max didn’t come to school yesterday and I don’t think he’s coming today either, right?”  
“Well we’re working things out and as we’re talking about Max” David walked in closing the door behind him “I’m actually here to take Max’s files out, I’m applying him for another school”   
“So I’m assuming things are going good so far?” He gestured to David to sit down and so he did,  
“I’m not sure yet, we went to the police station and they told us a bunch of stuff, so we’re taking care of Max until court”   
“Well I wish you all the best of luck, if you need any help with anything just let me know” he smiled at David “now give me a moment till I find that boys files” as he was walking towards the door he looked back and said “help yourself with a cup of coffee and some chocolate” he pointed at a table on the side of the office that held a tray with mugs and some candy.

Later David left the office with all of Max’s papers and files and books that were left in Max’s locker from school and got to the car opening the location to the new school for Max, he sighed thinking about his parents and what they might be doing right now and drove the car to the new school.  
Finally arriving at the school he did all the paper work that was needed, finally done with everything, they told David that Max should start as soon as possible which was after the weekend and then finally David was able to leave and head back home, on his way he brought some food for them to have and some fruits on the way and some batteries for the game boy.  
He got back finding Max laying upside down on the couch flipping through channels on the TV and Gwen having a book in her hands but distracted by the TV, “I’m back” Said David as he walked in, Gwen looked at him and waved, Max glanced at him quickly then returned his gaze to the TV, “I got your stuff from school Max,” he put down a bag on the coffee table that’s in front of the couch “and by next week you’ll be attending a new school”   
Max sat up normally on the couch taking the bag and rummaging inside it “thanks” he mumbled,  
“And I also brought lunch!” He went over to the kitchen placing the food on the dining table, “hope you like Indian food Max” he smiled widely.

David later on brought the game boy back placing the batteries inside of it, it took him a while to finally manage to open a game for Max to play and when he did, Max snatched it out of his hands and ran towards the balcony sitting there and playing with the game boy, David sat on the couch next to Gwen who put her book down and looked at him, “do you think that his parents knew we took him?” She asked,  
“Well... if they did they would’ve called us already” he looked at her,  
“I know.. but like, they have his phone right? What if they opened it and saw our numbers in it and called” she sounded stressed,  
“Gwen, they already know about their mistakes, what good would it do to them if they called?” He placed his hand on hers, “I know anything could happen at any moment, but you need to calm yourself down..”   
she looked down at his warm hands that was touching hers and sighed “that’s what I’m good at, just stressing over everything..” she looked back at him “but you’re right... I should calm down” she smiled weakly, and he smiled back at her.  
He later then went to the kitchen getting out a couple of fruits and cutting them neatly and putting them in bowls, handing one to Gwen and going outside to Max and sitting on the second chair in the corner, he placed the bowl on the little table in front of them, “how’d you find the game?” David asked,  
Max peeked at the bowl that David placed in front of him then darted his eyes back at the game saying “not bad for an old game”  
David smiled “I’m glad you enjoyed it”  
They sat in silence for a little while till David spoke saying “Max, don’t be shy about asking anything, if you have something in mind tell me” he stood up and took a deep breath, he ruffled Max’s hair and in return Max grunted and said “ _you don’t need to do that_ ” David only chuckled and went back inside, he looked at Gwen and said “tomorrow we’re doing something”  
She looked up at him raising an eyebrow “like what?”   
“I don’t know what we’re doing but we’re doing something!” He said excitedly,  
Gwen rolled her eyes and continued reading her book and eating the fruits, David looked back at the glass doors to the balcony and saw Max eating the fruits which for some reason mad David’s heart lighter and happier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m actually making a schedule of when to post, I’m thinking two times a week, every Sunday and every Thursday (for this Sunday I don’t know if I’ll be able to post it since I’ll be so busy but I’ll try!) and thank you again for the support!


	4. The calming blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Changing the mood a bit, David decided that they should have a little fun and go out as a family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This week was a total mess! It was filled with exams and I had an exam that was somewhat like a SAT exam so I didn’t have time to write or even touch my phone, but again thank you guys so much for supporting me and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Max woke up to the sound of chatter and laughter, becoming curious as to why there’s so much fuss going on he got out of bed and went to the living room,  
David was smiling wildly and Gwen was sitting next to him on the couch also smiling while keeping her gaze down to a computer that was on her lap, pointing at something,  
David saw the boy walking into the room all confused and annoyed and said “good morning Max!” David waved,  
“What’re you two doing?” Max said with a tired voice “Gwen’s smiling and I don’t like it..” he squinted, and Gwen raised her eyebrow and rolled her eyes,  
“Weeeeell” David said with a tilt of his head “I really wanted to lift the mood up a bit and I’ve been thinking of cool activities to do for the weekend!” He exclaimed,  
Max widened his eyes and said with fear in his tone “no more camping!”  
David giggled and said “we won’t go camping sadly, but!” He started to flail his hands excitedly “today we’re going to an aquarium!” He ended the sentence with a little squeal,  
“Aaaand Gwen is okay with that?” Max looked at Gwen who was questioning David’s behavior,  
She then looked back at Max and smiled “yeah I’m okay with that, kinda soothing to look at fish”  
Max stood there staring at them for a little while then shrugged and said “as long as I don’t go camping I’m okay with anything” he turned back to head towards the bathroom,  
David started clapping lightly in excitement with light in his eyes “this is going to be great!”  
Gwen shut down her computer smiling “yeah.. Hopefully he’ll enjoy his time there”

As Max was having his breakfast David decided to leave early afternoon to finish with the aquarium early and going somewhere to eat after that.

They spent the remaining time sitting next to each other on the couch, turning the channels on the TV trying to find one channel for all to agree on, then they all agreed on a food network where they were showing a cooking competition.

It was just before 12pm when David got up and yelled at the others telling them to hurry up and get ready to leave, they all changed clothes and headed out,  
The car ride was pretty silent, other than Gwen taking over the radio and David’s constant humming to every song that plays, probably not paying attention to the lyrics as he’s way too excited to go to the aquarium, but Max enjoyed it,  
Car rides with his parents were really boring, it was either them talking about what happened at work or just silence and other times it was them just scolding him for doing something, Max envy’s the kids at school who were picked up by their parents who actually looked happy to see their kids, he wondered what happened to his parents, why did they all of a sudden change on him? He remembers the time where they actually treated him like a human being, like their son, his gaze was towards the window with tears in them, he hated them but he still wants their attention, he wants his old parents back, his parents who actually cared about him and gave him a teddy bear, his parents who used to go on picnics with and have a great time, what changed them? Or were they like that from the beginning but they were hiding it? Did they just act as if they loved him and took care of him until they couldn’t stand it in anymore? Every single question was swarming in Max’s mind the whole ride, he eventually wiped up his tears as he saw that they were getting close, not wanting anyone to notice the puffy eyes from crying, then David finally said as they got the car into the entrance gate “we’re here!”  
They pulled up the car on a nearby parking, surprisingly, it was much emptier then what they had anticipated, but either way, they walked in, David bought the tickets and with a little jump of excitement they finally got inside.

The hues of blue gave Max a sense of calmness, it was so pleasing to him, he never felt anything like this, he walked in the middle of one of the rooms that were surrounded by multiple fish tanks which are filled with different types of fish, he looked around in the room and decided to look closely to one of the tanks, he placed his hands on the glass and moved his head closer to the glass gazing at the colors of the fish.  
David stood behind Max smiling at the amazed boy, feeling a little warmth in his heart, happy that he got to see a different mood from Max, Gwen stood a little behind them both with crossed arms also smiling at Max.  
As they got deeper into the place they started to see more weird looking fish, but what fascinated them more was the hallway of jellyfish, the different colors and different shapes and sizes definitely caught their eyes, and one thing Max mostly awed at was the tinies little baby jellyfish,  
It was so tiny that it was the same size of Max’s pinkie nail, he stared at it for a while until they finally moved to another room, they spent at least 10 minutes in each room looking around at all types of fish, then they got to see an open tank that kids were gathered around, Max hesitated for a bit before going to get a closer look, he saw all the kids reaching in and touching whatever was in there, he stared at them in disgust at first til David walked in next to him and reached inside the tank and touched a little starfish, Max stared at him horrified,  
David looked back at Max and chuckled a bit “it’s not so bad, I’ve got hand sanitizer in my backpack if you’d feel disgusted after reaching in”  
Max hesitated for a bit then rolled up his sleeves reaching in and touching the little starfish, it felt a little rough, almost like a rock but it moved, Max then saw a little crab walk by the starfish so he quickly pulled back his arm saying “alright I’m done”  
David gave him a napkin to wipe up the water from his arm and then gave him the hand sanitizer, Gwen was looking at one of the tanks with Eels.  
When they finally got closer to the end, they finally reached the aquariums walkthrough tube, Max’s mouth was wide open from amazement, the sharks and the colorful fish and the different sizes of skate fish, made Max’s heart feel tingly, it was such a beautiful sight he could stare at it for many hours without getting bored.  
When Gwen saw the look in Max’s eyes she pulled out her phone to take a sneak photo of him, she wanted to remember a moment as important as this, she finally saw the child that was hiding inside him, he finally looks happy, she enjoyed this.  
David noticed Gwen sneaking a picture of Max then he got his own phone out and told Max and Gwen to take a group selfie as a memory of this day, Gwen and David kneeled down next to Max and David took a selfie with them, as he saw the picture, he noticed that Max was smiling widely in the photo, he looked at Max who was already distracted by the shark and then he opened up the phone gallery to his phone and looked through all of the pictures that he took of Max, seeing Max happy is all that matters for David.  
At the end of the aquarium there was a gift shop that was filled with all types of goods, David told Max to get anything he wanted but again, Max hesitated, with a little push from David and Gwen, he ended up taking a little keychain in the shape of a shark, so David bought it for him, Gwen then snuck up buying a little plush of a swordfish that she thought looked cute.  
They then went to a nearby restaurant to fill up their empty stomachs and headed back home.

They arrived home at late evening as the sun was setting, Max threw himself on the couch and Gwen followed him but opening the TV on her way, and David sat next to them.

Later that night, Max headed towards the bedroom to sleep, David waited a little hesitant about going to talk to him or leave it for another day, but then he decided to go talk to him, he went into the room opening the door slowly, he found Max laying on the bed with a notebook next to him and scribbling down in it, “Max..?” David called as he opened the door, “is it okay to talk right now..?” He walked in.  
Max sat up and looked at him “what..?” He said,  
David closed the door behind him and sat next to Max, he stayed silent for a second then spoke saying “I’ve been thinking..”  
Max shifted a bit, trying to find a more comfortable way to sit on the bed trying not to look scared by what David’s about to say.  
“Max..” David looked at Max with worry “I need you to open up...”  
Max looked back at David not knowing what to say.  
“I know this came out of nowhere but, you’ve been sad since the day we brought you here and it hurts me” he paused a little “I know what you’ve been through is not easy but the first step you need to take is blurt things out, get things out of your heart so you’ll feel better..”  
Max looked down at his hands which were laying on top of his thighs.  
“Keeping it in will only make it worse... so, whenever you feel like it” David stood up and put a hand on Max’s head “I’m always here to listen..” he patted his head carefully and turned around to the door then Max spoke “they weren’t that bad ya know...” he said with a quite voice, David looked back a bit surprised.  
“My parents.. they were actually descent when I was about six” he kept his gaze down, and David stood there looking at Max.  
“I just don’t know what I fucking did to them to make them hate me..” his voice started to shake, “I just wanna know what I did that made them hate me so much!” Tears started streaming down his face, “am I that horrible for them to not even care about me?! For them to fucking treat me like an animal?!” His voice grew higher but it was still shaking “what did I do..?” He looked up David with puffy eyes and tears streaming down his face and gasping, David sat down next to Max and hugged him tightly “they just don’t know how amazing you are... they’re wrong about you Max.. you’re great and you deserve so much better..” he rubbed his back, and Max buried his face onto David’s chest, crying.  
He spent several minutes crying in David’s chest, everything that was bothering him, and everything that made him rage, all out with a couple of tears and a calming warm hug from the man that cared about him more than anything in the world, the man who accepted him as who he is.  
Eventually, Max became tired from crying and gradually stopped, but he kept hugging David, he missed these warm hugs, these warm hugs that made him feel welcome, these hugs that made him feel like everything was alright, his eyes started to feel heavy so he slowly feel asleep in David’s arms.  
David waited a bit more to make sure that Max was deep into sleep, then he laid him down on the bed and covered him up with the sheets and said “I promise you Max, that no matter what happens, I’ll be there for you.. nothing else matters..” he smiled and stood up closing the lights for Max and leaving him to sleep to regain his energy in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t know about the little schedule I did for posting new chapters, so if I finish a chapter I’ll post it, even if it was 3 chapters a week (which will never happen)


	5. A nice breeze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> visiting one of David’s favorite places to go, Max meets a new little excited friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I get the urge to scream every time I finish a chapter!! I have an exam tomorrow and I didn’t study much!! I was so distracted by this chapter that I totally forgot about the exam, so I’m squeezing as much information as I can right now.  
> Anyways, thanks again for supporting me I really appreciate and hope you enjoy this chapter!

Max woke up finding a little plush of a swordfish next to him, he held it in his hands admiring the little details.

he is kind of happy that he got to have this plushie, he kind of wanted to buy it when they were in the gift shop since it looks cute.

 

* * *

 

 

David was sitting outside in the balcony with a cup of tea and a book in his hands, while Gwen was in the kitchen eating her breakfast and scrolling through her phone.  
Max walked to the kitchen to make himself breakfast,  
“Good morning” Gwen said as she noticed Max get in,  
“Morning” Max answered getting the cereal that was on the counter.  
“Hey Max” Gwen said placing her phone down “do you wanna talk to Nikki and Neil?”  
Max widened his eyes and turned to look at Gwen quickly “is it okay to do that?” He said.  
Gwen giggled a bit and nodded “of course, they’re worried about you anyways” she smiled “so you wanna talk to them?”  
Max nodded his head quickly not thinking twice about the situation, he misses his friends so much and he feels like exploding if he doesn’t talk to them for longer, he stood next to Gwen biting his lips trying to hide the excitement but failing, Gwen opens up her phone and dials Neil’s phone number, they waited for a little while then Neil answered, she gave Max the phone and Max heard a voice from the phone saying “hello?”  
Max scoffed a bit and answered “hey, Neil it’s me, Max”  
“Holy shit! Max! thank god! How are you?!” Neil’s voice was so high Gwen could hear it.  
Max smiled, glad that he could hear his friends voice.

After having a long conversation with Neil Gwen then called Nikki who also started to yell when she heard Max’s voice, Gwen was happy for Max that he got to talk to his friends, he needed this, and she also talked to David the other night about inviting them to come over some time later so they’ll be able to see each other again and hang out.  
After Max ended his conversation with Nikki, he handed the phone back to Gwen with a smile on his face “thanks” he said.  
Gwen smiled back and took the phone back from him “no problem kiddo” she stood up and patted his head, she left the kitchen to go talk to David who was still in the balcony “hey David” she said as she opened the door to the balcony stepping in “I have an idea for what to do today”

The only thing Max saw from the kitchens doorway was a shadow running towards David’s bedroom, he got up to look at what’s going on and he saw that David was rummaging through his closet “what the fuck are you doing?” Max asked,  
“Oh Max! I’m looking for something here but I can’t find it...” half of his body was inside the closet searching for whatever he needed,  
Max stood next to the door looking at David trying to guess what he was looking for.  
“Maybe it’s in the storage..” David mumbled to himself and got out of the closet which was now a total mess and walked passed Max and into the storage room that was right next to his bedroom, he opened the door and got in looking for whatever it was that was missing.  
After a little while of searching Max heard David screaming “aha!” As in he found whatever he was looking for, Max then out of curiosity he went to look at what David has found.  
David stood with a basket in front of him and a picnic blanket inside of it and a frisbee in his hands.  
“All that fuss was for a fucking frisbee?” Max raised his eyebrows at David.  
David gave Max a look when he heard Max swear “ _any who_ , I was looking for this frisbee because we’re going on a little picnic today” David smiled widely.  
“You’re not tricking me into camping are you?” Max looked at David in suspicion.  
“No Max I’m not, besides, tomorrow is school” he picked up the basket and placed the frisbee inside of it “oh I haven’t gone to a picnic in such long time!” He looked at the basket his smile fading “used to go to a picnic every weekend with my mom” he stood there in silence for a bit but then looked back at Max “welp! I’ll be making some sandwiches and a cake!” He smiled widely again “which do you prefer, orange or chocolate cake?”  
Max smiled at the sound of cake and said “orange”

After Gwen finished helping David with the sandwich’s she later decided that she should go out and buy some snacks till David finishes baking the cake, as Gwen left Max was in the living room watching TV, he then decided to go watch David make the cake since there’s nothing interesting to watch on TV.

he entered the kitchen finding David rummaging through one of the cabinets trying to find a bowl, after he found one he noticed Max standing behind him silently “oh hey Max” he smiled, “wanna help?”  
Max stood hesitant for a little while but then shrugged and stood closer to David.  
David smiled widely as Max stood next to him “do you know how to crack an egg?” David said as he held an egg in his hand.  
Max raised an eyebrow “of course I know how to crack an egg, what am I? A baby?” Max took the egg from David’s hand as he giggled at Max’s commentary.  
He gave him a smaller bowl to crack the eggs in and they were all cracked perfectly with one hand, David was amused by Max’s great ability to crack eggs so he praised him for his great work.  
Helping David with little things here and there, like juicing the orange and mixing the batter was pretty fun for both of them, Max usually cooks breakfast for his parents but he never got to cook with either of them before, having little moments like these warmed his heart and made him eager for more.  
After a while Gwen came back home to the smell of the baked orange cake and the little chatter that was going on in the kitchen, as she went to check up on them she found David cutting the cake and lining it on a nice plate and she found Max cutting fruits to make a fruit salad, “I literally left for like 5 minutes and you guys did so much? Holy shit” Gwen said.  
David turned her way quickly being startled by her sudden appearance “oh! Gwen! You’re back!”  
“I am and I brought some snacks” she placed a bag filled with goods on the kitchen table, David thanked her for her work and told her that she should take Max’s job and let him arrange the things in the basket, so they switched up jobs.  
Each finished their jobs and quickly dressed up to finally leave, David doing a last checkup on the things they had and found everything there so they left, David made them ride the car to go to a park that he loved dearly and he visited quite a lot, but it took time to go by food so they rode the car.  
Finally arriving, David parked the car and they headed out to the green field of grass and the large lake that’s filled with families and little ducks, they found a spot under the shade of a tree and placed their blanked to sit on, Gwen sat down and took out a book that she had with her and just left the world completely, lost in words, David however took a deep breath placing his hands on his waist and just admired the view and enjoying the breeze.  
Max looked around for a bit and found a couple of ducks and geese walking around the close by river, he was eager to go walk to them and just try to achieve one of his dreams of patting a duck, even though he knows that ducks are evil little creatures that are not afraid to unleash darkness in one move from a human.  
He looked at David and said shyly “uh.. can I.. walk around for a bit?”  
David looked down at the kid and smiled widely “of course! You didn’t have to ask” he ruffled Max’s hair and Max growled in return.  
He took a sandwich from the basket and headed towards the ducks and geese, he cut off a little piece of bread from the sandwich as he walked closer to them, “hello..” said Max in a quiet voice, trying as hard as he can not to startle the little demons, he pulled out his hand that had the little piece of bread towards a little duck who looked like it was plotting the death of him, but after a little moment of silence the duck took the bread out of his hand and ate it, Max smiled at the sight of the duck eating from his hand but without noticing it a goose was already beside him and it quickly stole the whole sandwich from his other hand and it ran away, “Hey!” Max yelled at the thief as it took away the sandwich “I was gonna eat that!” He frowned.  
Other ducks and geese started to swarm around him probably thinking that he’s some type of source for food, becoming a little panicky Max started to walk back slowly but they followed, he started to run being startled from these little creatures, most of them stayed behind but one of the geese ran after him.  
David thought it was a wonderful sight, he was laughing the whole time Max was running around screaming “get this thing off of me!!”  
After hearing the screams of Max, Gwen put down her book to record what was going on, also laughing her ass off, but after a little while the goose got tired of running around after Max so it stopped and Max quickly headed over to Gwen and David wheezing and breathing heavily “what the fuck” he said in between breaths.  
David giggled at Max and gestured to him to sit down and said “have some snacks” pointing at the basket.  
Max took out a piece of cake that he was dying to eat since they started making it, and sat back down back against the tree, and admired the view and the sounds of people laughing and chattering and dogs running and barking while he enjoyed the piece of cake.  
David sat down next to Gwen eyes on the lake and the reflection of the sun on the water.

After a little while of silence David stood back up and grabbed the frisbee that was laying inside the basket, he looked at Max waving the frisbee “wanna have a go? See who’s better at catching things”  
Max snorted “you think you’re better than me?” He stood up “I’ll show you who’s better” he snatched the frisbee from David’s hand smirking and skipping further away from the tree.  
David gave Max a thumbs up showing that he’s ready and so Max threw the frisbee towards David, catching it with only tilting a bit to the right, then David threw it back at Max but it flew over his head, Max tried to catch it but it was so far up that jumping couldn’t help, he ran towards wherever the frisbee was going but apparently a nearby dog beat him to it, after catching it the dog speed back to what looked like it’s owner.  
“Do animals really steal everything that’s not theirs?!” Max followed the dog to the owner and David did the same, the owner apologized to both of them for disturbing their fun and explained to them that his little golden retriever, that was called ‘poppy’ was just excited to be at the park and she mistook the frisbee to the ball that he pretended to throw, max looked at the dog that was almost three quarters his size, she looked so cute he couldn’t resist to pet her while David and poppy’s owner had a little chat.  
The owner noticed Max petting poppy and said “wanna play with her?” He handed Max the frisbee,

“you don’t mind?” Max asked,

“of course I don’t, poppy seems to like you so might as well let her have her fun” he smiled.

Max took the frisbee from the mans hand and waved it over poppy’s head, which made her jump around a bit while barking and wagging her tail excitedly, Max smiled at the dog and started skipping backwards waving the frisbee to keep poppy’s attention, poppy followed him jumping around excitedly.  
The second Max threw the frisbee poppy went speeding towards its direction jumping up to catch it in her mouth, then bringing it back to Max.  
Max’s smile was showing his teeth, he patted poppy when she came back taking the frisbee from her mouth and started to scratch her back, she wagged her tail excitedly probably enjoying the moment and Max enjoying it too.  
After a while of playing with poppy, David and poppy’s owner came and apologized for disturbing their fun but they had to leave, Max gave poppy a last scratch on the back and on the head.  
Her owner told Max to high five her and he did, resulting in poppy standing up and giving him a high five, David then placed a hand on Max’s shoulder saying a last goodbye to the two and then walking back to Gwen.  
“I didn’t know dogs can be so adorable” Max said, he looked up at David his eyes almost looked like they were sparkling “did you see her give me a high five?” He said with a high tone, and David laughed and nodded.  
They spent a bit more time chattering with Gwen and talking about poppy and about past pets they had, David said that he used to own a pet rabbit and a turtle but the rabbit ran away after a couple of years and the turtle lives in his mother’s backyard, since it was so big, Gwen said that she used to have a cat and two birds when she lived with her parents, they’re still alive and well, Max said he used to have a cat which was so fat that it barely even moved, but they had to give it to a family friend because his mom turned out to be allergic to cats.

  
But after the sun started setting David decided that they should head back and cook dinner, “tomorrow’s the first day of school Max” David reminded Max and in response he growled saying “you don’t have to remind me”

  
They packed their things and headed back home, and as they arrived, David made them all dinner so they could eat while watching whatever’s on TV and later then go to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought this chapter should be more bonding moments, mostly because I’m just too afraid to continue on with the real stuff or maybe because I don’t know what to write, anyways, The date of the court is getting closer and I’m gonna have so much trouble with writing it because:   
> A) I don’t live in America and don’t know how things work.  
> B) I don’t have anyone to talk to that’s from there that knows how things work there.  
> So I’m taking my time with when that chapter will come because I know nothing :)  
> Anyways thank you again for reading and supporting! I hope you have a great day!


	6. A new start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first day of school arrives, but David receives a call that might not make it into Max’s liking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sincerely apologize for not uploading this chapter sooner, I was caught up in some things and I kept pushing the date further and further, but it’s finally done!   
> Thank you for the support, I appreciate every one of you for the support and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Max woke up to Gwen stroking his hair while she sat next to him on the bed whispering “Max, time for school” he thought it was weird the way she woke him up, he usually woke up on his own or just by his parents turning off the AC and turning on the lights, but the fact that she’s next to him and gently waking him up is weird to him, but he’s not complaining.  
He opened his eyes slightly to see Gwen’s figure sitting next to him with a hand on his shoulder now, he could see what looked like a little smile on her face.  
“C’mon” she patted his shoulder softly “I’ve made breakfast” she stood up and left, leaving Max laying on the bed staring at the slightly open door that she left from, he felt shivers as he remembered the stroke on his head when she woke him, he wondered why it felt so nice and why he felt the urge to have more.

Gwen was making some omelettes with bacon on the side, while David on the other hand was trying to help Gwen as much as he can but she kept telling him to go sit down or she’ll hit him with the pan in her hands because there’s nothing he should do but rest, the smell of bacon filled the room as Max walked in dressed up for school, he sat down with a plate in front of him being decorated with the omelette and bacon, and next to it was a glass of orange juice.  
Gwen seemed to be in a good mood this morning, she usually just makes cereal for breakfast or PB sandwiches, he never saw her cook actually, it was always David who cooked their meals, Maybe Gwen prefers not to cook or she’s actually bad, Max shook his head noticing that he was thinking about Gwen’s cooking for a while so he brushed it off and started eating.  
The atmosphere was quiet for a while, just the sounds of knifes and forks hitting the surface of the plates and the sound of chewing every once in a while, but later it was broke off by David who spoke “since it’s your first day of your new school” he placed his knife and fork on the plate finishing his meal “I’ll be driving you there, but after that you’ll be riding the bus home” he paused a bit waiting for Max to respond but Max said nothing so he continued “is that okay with you?” He asked  
Max looked up at David for a fraction of a second and said “better than being stuck with you in a car, so yeah it’s okay with me”   
Gwen chuckled at Max’s answer but David on the other hand frowned.

After all of them finished their meals they headed off, Gwen waited for a bus to pick her up while David and Max rode the car to the new school, Max’s stomach turned at the thought of starting school again, he’d rather stay at home and do nothing but that’s not an option here, if he did that, they might send him to an orphanage or even worse, to his parents, he doesn’t like being at places that he’s not familiar with alone, what if someone tricked him into doing something that would lead to something horrible? He worried that his new teachers would treat him differently, people are racists and you’d expect anything from them, he knew that the people there would bully him but all he cared about was what if his teachers bullied him too? In the old school teachers were nice to him but things changed and people change too, being bullied for his height is normal but he hated racism, it drove him mad, and that’s what he kept in his mind the whole ride.  
David could sense Max’s stress, he was fidgeting with his fingers so much, even with the corner of David’s eyes he could see it clearly, so the only thing he did was comfort Max, telling him how everything’s gonna be alright and if anything happened to him he’d be the first one to fight back.

Arriving at the school, David parked the car near the entrance and looked at Max slightly smiling “here we are”  
Max looked through the window at the school, heart beating faster than usual, he hated trying new things, he hated seeing new kids come into the school in the middle of the semester and now he’s one of those kids.  
He stayed put for a little while watching the kids walking into the building then looked back at David.  
David smiled back at him and placed his hand on Max’s shoulder “it’s alright Max”  
“All you gotta do is go to the principals office and tell him who you are and he’ll do the rest” David said.  
Max sighed and opened the door stepping out of the car closing the door behind him.  
David rolled down the window on Max’s side and said “have fun! Don’t think about it too much!”  
Max cringed a bit at the sound of David almost screaming, he looked around of a bit searching for someone who could’ve heard him but no one seemed to pay attention.  
Max waved his hand slightly at David mouthing ‘bye’ then walked to the building.  
David watched Max until walked into the school building safely then he finally drove to his workplace.

Max did what David told him, he walked around the school for a bit and asked for the principals office, until one of the students showed him where his office was.  
He knocked on the door and walked in when someone on the other side answered his knock with a usual ‘come in’  
He told the principal about who he was and the principal greeted him nicely and introduced himself as Mr. Jackson Young.  
He showed Max to his locker and gave him the schedule to his classes and showed him a little map that was hanging on one of the walls showing where everything was on the school grounds.  
Mr. Young then showed Max to his next class right before the bell rang and said “enjoy your time here” and then patted his head.  
Max yet again cringed thinking about all the possibilities where he could enjoy his time here, he thought about the school burning down or final exams being canceled, or just school being canceled in all, and that’s not gonna happen in million years.  
The principal excused himself and left, while Max walked in the class and sat at the end.

  
David hummed while he organized some books on their right shelves, he liked to read a bit about each book he placed so he usually reads the paragraphs at the back of the book, maybe one day he’ll buy something that’ll suit Max’s taste, he picked up books that were laying on a little cart next to him and scanned bar codes on the bottom of each book with a little scanner, then placing the books in their right place.  
he greeted every person that stood next to him or asked him with a warming smile and a ‘good morning’ or ‘good evening’ he enjoyed the atmosphere of the library, it’s a place where people can curl up in a chair and get so into a book that they’ll forget their surroundings, it’s a place where people an make up scenarios in their minds and have the most creative imagination as possible, he admired people that look so invested in their books, he thought they looked like small children reading their favorite picture book.

It was around 11:30 when his phone started to vibrate in his pocket, the employees usually keep their phones in their lockers so they won’t get distracted but David needed his phone with him, he never knew when CPS would call up for the court date so he always kept it in his pocket, besides his boss is okay with it so he’s not getting in trouble, he picked up the phone hesitantly, almost dropping it, he answered with clearing his throat and saying “h-hello, this is David”  
“Hello” said a male deep voice “this is Mrs. Miller’s co worker, Derek Clark”   
David bolted his back up right as if he was meeting the man face to face, placing the scanner that was on his hand on the cart “oh! Yes! Hello” said David with a hesitant tone.  
“I’m here to inform you about the date of the court meeting, and the needs to attend it” Derek said.  
And with a gulp from David he listened to every word Derek said, nodding and mumbling in agreement to every word”

  
Waiting with a line of kids, Max stood next to the bus stop to get a ride home, the kids next to him were so loud he could just bolt at them and beat the shit out of everyone but he had to maintain his cool, it’s his first day in school and he doesn’t wanna get sent back to his parents.  
The bus finally arrived and Max made sure he was the first to get in so he could get the furthest seat next to a window, and he did.  
One thing he wished for was the no one would sit next to him but in his misfortune someone did, a dark skinned boy who Max thought looked Hispanic sat next to him, he looked familiar to him, until he remembered that he’s a boy from his chemistry class, he was quite smart but he wasn’t a nerd.   
Max leaned his shoulder on the glass looking out the window, every one on the bus was so loud it gave Max a headache, they stayed for a little while at the bus stop until the bus finally moved.  
“Hey, you’re the new kid from chemistry class right?” Said the boy who was next to Max.  
Max looked at him with the corner of his eye saying “ _so what_?”  
“I’m Milo” he smiled “and I’m guessing you’re Max?”   
Max nodded slightly, he had an extreme headache and he was on the edge of taping Milo’s mouth, and every one on this bus.  
Milo nodded understanding that Max is not in the mood to talk so he mumbled “cool” to himself.

  
The bus finally reached Max’s station, so he quickly stood up and headed out but before he could leave he heard Milo from the back saying “see you tomorrow!” Max didn’t respond and got off of the bus quickly and walked towards the apartment.  
Gwen opened the door for Max smiling,  
He walked in throwing his bag on the floor and throwing himself on the couch sighing.  
“How’s school?” Gwen said as she closed the door.  
“ _Shit_ ” Max groaned, his face buried in the couch.  
“I know buddy” she nodded and sat next to him “David is preparing lunch so go wash your face and hands” she patted his back gently.

As they all sat on the kitchen table eating, David kept darting his eyes back and forth looking at Gwen then Max then back to Gwen, Gwen noticed the worry in David’s behavior since she too was nervous, they both didn’t want to tell Max about the court, they don’t want him to see his parents once again to remember the misery he used to have when he lived with them, they don’t want him to hate them for forcing him to go to court, but it was for his own good and they have to do it.  
Gwen gestured for David to speak up and tell him so David mustered up the courage and cleared his throat “M-max” said David “There’s something you need to know about...”  
Max looked at David with a frown placing his fork on the plate, feeling like his throat is drying from the fear of what’s about to get out of David’s mouth.


End file.
